I. Field
The present invention relates generally to integrated circuits, and more specifically to techniques for compressing data and address traces for testing and debugging an integrated circuit with multiple memories.
II. Background
Continual improvement in integrated circuit (IC) fabrication technology has enabled more and more complicated integrated circuits to be fabricated for a variety of applications. For example, a system-on-chip (SOC) device may include a microprocessor, a memory, and other processing units, all of which are embedded on a single integrated circuit. The microprocessor may perform various functions and/or control the processing units. The processing units may be designed to perform specific computational tasks. The memory may store code and data for the microprocessor and processing units. The integration of all these circuit blocks on a single integrated circuit reduces cost and improves reliability.
An important aspect in the development of a complicated integrated circuit is the testing and debugging of the various circuit blocks within the integrated circuit. A technique commonly used for debugging an integrated circuit is real-time tracing, which includes program/instruction tracing and data tracing. Program tracing refers to the capture of lines of code being executed by processors within the integrated circuit, and data tracing refers to the capture of data accessed by the processors. The real-time tracing provides a user/developer with the capability to capture and view instructions and data accesses within the integrated circuit at run-time speed. This helps the user/developer to track down bugs in the hardware and/or code such as, for example, obscure bugs that only occur in situations where there is an unpredictable interaction between the hardware and code.
Real-time trace capability is normally provided by a trace module and a trace port that are embedded within the integrated circuit. The trace module typically includes configurable filters and trigger logic that allow the user/developer to select which instructions and data to capture and report. The captured information is often compressed and then provided via the trace port to an analysis tool located off-chip. Conventionally, the trace module only supports data tracing for a single memory or a unified data memory within the integrated circuit.